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In a phase IIa study of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a single subretinal injection of rAAV.sFlt-1 gene therapy demonstrated acceptable safety, but not a complete or durable anti-VEGF response. Additional preclinical research is under way.

People-like my neighbor and I-for centuries, have tended to give too much weight to negative news stories and gloomy predictions. Hence my resolution for 2016 to pay less attention to the doomsayers and pour more drinks for my friends.

Squalamine lactate-when combined with ranibizumab for treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration-achieved improved visual function when compared with the results achieved with ranibizumab treatment alone.

Pharmacotherapy research for diabetic macular edema is looking at targets other than VEGF inhibition to develop treatments that can be used as standalone intervention or may be complementary to current options.

The same photoactivation process used in collagen cross-linking for keratoconus can kill bacteria without the need for the oxygen responsible for the biomechanical effects, potentially pointing toward better treatments for keratitis, according to Olivier Richoz, MD, PhD.

Ophthalmology Times is pleased to announce Amelia Fong, MD, of Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, as the second-place winner of the publication’s 2015 Resident Writer’s Award Program, sponsored by Allergan. Dr. Fong’s entry is featured here.

Refractive laser platforms provide outstanding results, have reliable technology with excellent predictability and outcomes, and provide a broad range of applications. Better diagnostic imaging is possible with optical coherence tomography and Scheimpflug technology, and the advances of femtosecond lasers are moving into cataract surgery, said Michael Mrochen, PhD.

Were he alive today, he would likely feel heartened by how his work has been carried on by Gerd U. Auffarth, MD, FEBO, who is now director of The David J Apple International Laboratory for Ocular Pathology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Beware venom ophthalmia

Things that strike terror in the hearts of many Americans-spiders, earthquakes, Ebola virus disease, and politicians with plans to “fix” healthcare-don't faze me much. But, for as long as I can remember, I have had this visceral negative reaction to snakes.

In a prospective study including 20 presbyopic emmetropes, treatment with a proprietary topical ophthalmic formulation (PresbV Tears) demonstrated benefit for improving near, intermediate, and far uncorrected visual acuity.

Ebola and the eye

The unexpected discovery of viable Ebola virus in the eye of a patient who had recovered from the systemic disease has strengthened efforts to learn more about ophthalmic and systemic complications of Ebola survivors and has translated to management and follow-up strategies in West Africa.